BORN: Circa 1592/Scrooby, Nottinghamshire, England
DIED: Between 1656 and 1675/Marshfield, Plymouth Colony

Susanna (Jackson) White (Winslow)’s origins as a native of Nottinghamshire, England, were uncovered and published by genealogists in the 21st century. She belonged to the congregation of English Separatists in Amsterdam with her first husband, William White. They made the Mayflower journey with their young son, Resolved. Off the coast of Cape Cod, Susanna gave birth to the first Pilgrim child born in Plymouth Colony, a son named Peregrine (Latin for “pilgrim”). A cradle Susanna is believed to have brought from Holland survives at Pilgrim Hall Museum.

William White died during February of 1621. About two months later, the newly widowed Susanna married Edward Winslow, another Mayflower passenger whose spouse had also recently died. Their wedding on May 12, 1621 was the first in the new colony. In addition to her two sons from her first marriage, Susanna White had five children by Edward Winslow, although only two lived to adulthood: Josiah, born c1629 and Elizabeth, born in the 1630s.

As a trusted agent and diplomat, Winslow went to England to represent Colony interests in 1623, 1624, 1635, and 1646. In 1633 he was elected Plymouth Colony governor and was chosen again for that office in 1636 and 1644. Susanna occupied a prominent role during these years as the governor’s wife.

In 1646 Edward Winslow returned to England on diplomatic business, never to return. Susanna was left to oversee their large estate named Careswell, in Marshfield (north of Plymouth). A surviving document from 1648 indicates that, serving as Edward’s agent, Susanna sold the indenture of an Indian servant named Hope to a Barbadian merchant.

There is no evidence that Susanna White Winslow ever accompanied her husband Edward Winslow on his journeys out of Plymouth Colony.
In 1655 Winslow was sent by England’s Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell as one of three commissioners to superintend the expedition against the Spanish possessions in the West Indies. He died at sea near Hispaniola on May 8th of that year.

We do not know the date of Susanna’s death. Her name appears in her husband Edward’s will, written in 1654. She is not mentioned in her son Josiah’s will. It is therefore assumed that Susanna White Winslow died between 18 December 1654 (when Edward Winslow’s will was written) and 2 July 1675 (the date of Josiah Winslow’s will).

After Edward’s 1655 death, Susanna petitioned the British government for the balance of his salary, to satisfy debts and provide her with a “subsistence.” She may have returned to England to present this petition in person.

A 1651 portrait of Edward depicts him holding a letter signed “From yr loving wife Susanna,” an indication of Susanna’s literacy. No letters written in her hand have been found.

For information on the discovery of Susannah (Jackson) White (Winslow)’s family origins:

Sue Allan, Caleb Johnson and Simon Neal, “The Origin of Mayflower Passenger Susanna (Jackson) (White) Winslow,” The American Genealogist 89-4  (October 2017):241-264.